A teacher with a long history of inappropriate conduct with female students, was disciplined again for his behaviour of improper touching and saying things like "older men are better."
John Peter Rocca, who has been a teacher in the Lower Mainland since at least 1988, has a history of bad behaviour that dates back to that same year, when he was suspended without pay by the 黑马磁力 School District while they investigated allegations of improper touching of students and offensive language 鈥� an investigation that was never completed because Rocca resigned from his position.
According to this latest Consent Resolution Agreement, signed by Rocca, and released on Tuesday, June 10, by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, in 1998, now working for SD42, he was told by the district assistant superintendent not to give rides to female students after basketball practices or games.
On Sept. 12, 2001, Rocca received a written reprimand after allegations that he had loaned his car to an unlicensed student, who took two other students with them and was involved in a crash resulting in minor injuries to all three students in the vehicle.
And on April 30, 2003, he received a letter of discipline and was suspended for five days without pay, after allegations he made unnecessary physical contact with female students, making personal comments, making them uncomfortable. His agreed to conditions upon returning to work was not to touch female students.
In this latest series of incidents, the school district made a complaint to the commissioner regarding the behaviour of Rocca on Aug.18, 2021.
Rocca taught one student mathematics from Grades 7 to 9, between the years 2018-2021.
When the student was in Grade 7, Rocca interrupted the lesson he was teaching to comment about what the student was wearing and how they looked. He would fist bump the student, in addition to sometimes putting his hand around their waist and on their shoulder.
In Grad 8, the student would be approached by Rocca at their locker, and he would sometimes lean against their shoulder, or put an arm around their shoulders and ask about their personal life.
While reprimanding two male students for immature behaviour, he made comments to students saying "'older men are better' which is 'why girls like older men,'" and he referred to female students as "small," "adorable," "sweet," and "cute."
Then, when the student was in Grade 9, he made a joke in front of his class that if he won the lottery, he would start a school in Hawaii and bring his favourite students, with that student being the only one in the class he would bring.
On Jan. 20, 2021, Rocca hit the student on the thigh with a rolled-up paper as he walked by.
Rocca was also inappropriate with two other students at the school.
He asked personal questions of another student in his Grade 9 class during the 2020/2021 school year, about their family, as he had previously taught their father, and also about their post-secondary plans.
On multiple occasions, he came up behind them and put a hand on their shoulders, and, on one occasion, he asked them to smile and told them they should smile more because they have "such a nice smile."
And in the same Grade 9 class he would get very close to yet another student when speaking with them and told them they were like a model while balancing papers on their head.
The commissioner ordered an investigation on Oct. 6, 2021 and he was given the consent resolution agreement on Nov. 7, 2023.
However, Rocca has since retired from the school district on May 21, 2021, and relinquished his certificate of qualification on Aug. 24 that same year.
He has agreed to the facts in the agreement from the commissioner which stipulates that for one year from May, he will not apply for, and will not be issued, "a certificate of qualification, an independent school teaching certificate, or any other authorization to teach in the kindergarten to Grade 12 education system."
The commissioner considered three factors when determining the proper consequence for Rocco including: that he failed to create a positive learning environment; he caused physical and emotional harm to students; and he engaged in a repeated pattern of similar conduct.
